Tag: meal rotation

Recipes and Cooking

Creating Simplicity in a Working Mom’s Life

Brandi C

Creating Simplicity in a Working Mom's Life

Creating Simplicity in a Working Mom’s Life

In this season of life, I need things to be easy. While most of my children have “flown” from the nest and life is quieter, I’m busier than I have been in a long time—though it’s a different kind of busy. So, I have been Creating Simplicity in a Working Mom’s Life.

A Realization of My Reality

The other night, I was sitting in the living room, multitasking because if I don’t do something now, I’ll forget. I was cooking dinner, listening to H chatter, hearing about my husband’s day, answering emails, working on a grocery list, and planning the menu for the upcoming week.

In the midst of all this, I stopped working, looked at my husband, and said, “I have cooked, almost daily, for you and the children for almost 31 years.” Don’t get me wrong, I love to cook. When my kids were young, I would freezer cook for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for a month. I baked all the time—breads, cookies, and such.

I loved challenging recipes, shelf-cooking, freezer cooking, and experimenting. But now? I’m tired. T.I.R.E.D. I have no desire to plan, grocery shop, or cook. It is SO hard to go from cooking for 16 people to cooking for just a handful.

Not a fan.

My creative juices are drained by my job, exhaustion, lack of appetite, and zero desire to work harder than I absolutely have to. So, my wheels started turning, and I came up with a plan. We’ll see how long it lasts.

How My Mind Works

When I work on my list, I add to it as soon as I realize I’m out of something or need something. If I wait until a “normal” time to do it all at once, I’ll surely forget. One of the first things I do is call my son. He comes over during his lunch hour occasionally, and I want to make sure I have things that he likes when he’s here.

Next, I figure out who gets to pick the dinner menu for our Saturday meals. Once I know, they create the menu and I ask if anyone else wants something specific. I add that to my list, then order what my grandchildren need or want to make sure they have plenty of snacks and food they like when they are here. Finally, I work on the rest of the menu and order what I need. I’m very good at not wasting food.

Sundays, I don’t cook. Tuesdays, my husband makes me a pizza. Wednesdays, we eat out (most nights). Saturdays, a different person picks the menu each week. That leaves me with Monday, Thursday, and Friday to handle.

Here’s the Plan

I sat down and categorized the foods we like: soup, Mexican, Italian, chicken, miscellaneous things, and side dishes. From there, we all picked about 7 (or more) items in each category. I’ll use that list to rotate meals throughout the month. For each meal, I’ll make an editable grocery list. I’ll mark off what we don’t need and checkmark the items we do need. As I cook, I’ll post the recipes. Some are already posted, and I’ll link them back.

Does that make sense? It does in my mind. All we have to do is pick from this list, and the grocery list is already created. I just add it to the cart, and my husband picks it up. These are simple meals to make, and I’m still working on the chicken part. We love chicken, but I don’t usually write recipes down; I just make it up as I go. Most of these meals can be made by my husband if I’m tapped out, which makes it even better.

A “Mostly” List (with the Exception of Chicken)

Soups:

  • Chicken Noodle
  • Chili
  • White Chicken Chili
  • Potato
  • Lasagna
  • Cheeseburger
  • Broccoli and Cheese
  • Zuppa

Mexican:

  • Tacos
  • Mom’s Tacos
  • Taco Ring
  • Chili Cheese Dog Casserole
  • Fajita Casserole
  • Standing Baked Tacos
  • Sheet Pan Nachos

Italian:

  • Spaghetti
  • Baked Spaghetti
  • Lasagna
  • Cheesy Chicken Lasagna
  • Baked Pasta
  • Chicken Alfredo Lasagna with Ravioli
  • Coal Miner’s Pasta
  • Baked Tortellini

Chicken:

  • Alice’s Chicken
  • Pan Fried Chicken breasts
  • Baked Whole Chicken
  • Baked Thighs
  • Fried Chicken
  • 40 Clove Chicken

Side Dishes:

  • Rice (burnt, fried, plain, broccoli & cheese, Mexican style)
  • Green beans (plain or green bean casserole)
  • Corn (or corn casserole)
  • Rolls (cheesy bread, bread, bread sticks)
  • Potatoes (so many kids)
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Lima beans
  • Peas
  • Macaroni and Cheese
  • Buttered Noodles

Miscellaneous Foods:

  • Breakfast
  • Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches
  • Kielbasa, broccoli, onion, mushroom, potato, peppers sheet pan
  • Goulash
  • Steak
  • Hamburgers and hotdogs
  • Ham and Hashbrown Casserole
  • Pizza
  • Breaded Chops
  • Pork Tenderloin
  • Roast

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Recipes and Cooking

Chili Cheese Dog Casserole

Brandi C

Chili Cheese Dog Casserole

Chili Cheese Dog Casserole

Here’s another easy dinner idea! Chili Cheese Dog Casserole. I love chili, and I love chili cheese dogs—so why not combine them? This dish was a hit with my family, and I served it with chips for a simple, satisfying meal.

Now, let’s talk about life for a second. My downstairs air conditioning isn’t working well, which means it’s hot downstairs. On top of that, my pool still isn’t ready, and depending on others has reminded me that sometimes, we just have to lean on ourselves. So, at one point, our pool was green with frogs, our air was struggling, and my grandbabies and children were definitely riding the struggle bus.

But here’s the good stuff—the upstairs air works, and we had the theater room at the perfect temperature, so we hung out and watched a show. Most of my kids were home for dinner and haircuts. My grandbabies were here, which is a blessing all on its own. And after my husband worked some brain magic, the pool finally started clearing up. Best of all, this recipe came together quickly and in stages, so I didn’t have to turn my kitchen into the depths of hell.

Ingredients:

  • Hotdogs (I used bun-length)
  • Crescent rolls (2 packages)
  • American cheese slices
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Seasoning mix of choice
  • 1 packet chili seasoning mix
  • 2 cans chili beans
  • Shredded cheddar cheese
  • Chips or rice (for serving)

Directions:

  1. Prepare the Hotdogs – Roll out each crescent dough triangle. Place half a slice of American cheese on it, then add a hotdog (I slit mine down the middle so it doesn’t explode). Roll it up and place it in a greased 13×9 baking dish. Bake at 375°F for 10-12 minutes until golden.

  2. Make the Chili – In a skillet, brown the ground beef with diced onion, minced garlic, and seasoning mix. Once fully cooked, drain the grease and return it to the pan. Stir in the chili beans and chili seasoning mix, making sure everything is well combined.

  3. Assemble & Bake – Spoon the chili mixture around the baked hotdogs in the dish. Sprinkle generously with shredded cheddar cheese. Cover with foil and bake until everything is heated through and the cheese is melted.

  4. Serve – Enjoy with chips or rice!

Final Thoughts:

This dish was a hit! The only mistake I made was leaving it uncovered while keeping it warm, which caused the beans to get a little too dry. Since there’s no extra liquid in this recipe, keeping it covered helps maintain the right texture.

Everyone loved it, and my husband specifically requested that it become part of our rotation—even though we don’t really have one! I need to be more diligent about writing down my recipes because there are meals he loves that I completely forget how to make. Shelf-cooking is just second nature to me, and leftovers don’t last long in our house. But maybe, if I start writing everything down, I’ll finally have an actual meal rotation to keep my husband happy. He loves when I remember how to recreate something he enjoyed!

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